THEFORTIUS JOINT REPLACEMENT CENTRE

WELCOME TO THE CENTRE

The Fortius Joint Replacement Centre at the Bupa Cromwell Hospital London brings together Bupa, a leading global healthcare company, with the Fortius Group of orthopaedic specialists. Our partnership aims to achieve excellence in hip and knee joint replacement surgery by providing the most effective and highest quality of care for all our patients.

Our team of experts uses the latest evidence-based critical care pathway to enable patients to recover as fast as possible after their surgery. This means that, as a patient, you benefit from a shorter stay in hospital and a carefully managed return home.

As one of our patients, you’ll be encouraged to take an active part in your own care before, during, and after your operation and to involve your family and friends in this process. Our patient information and education programme will help prepare you both physically and emotionally for your operation. Research has shown that participation in patient education results in a faster than average recovery and return to normal activities. The information will vary depending on your operation, so start by selecting the relevant procedure.

Our Approach

An expert team of surgeons and anaesthetists at the Fortius Joint Replacement Centre has worked together to review the latest evidence supporting patient care pathways and to share their thinking on best practice. This has led to the development of a unified, evidence based approach, for use at the Centre.

This approach is based on the principles of the Enhanced Recovery Pathway (ERP), and Rapid Recover pathway (Biomet) which aims to accelerate and improve all aspects of a patient’s recovery process following surgery. This pathway combines a proven approach to pain management, clinical and surgical practice, patient education, mobility, diet and lifestyle and helps to achieve an optimal patient experience and outcome.

The ERP is designed to support physical recovery – for example, restoring function, strength and range of movement – as well as minimising physiological stress to the organs and major systems during surgery. Importantly, it also recognises the importance of the psychological aspects of recovery, offering information and support that helps patients to make informed choices at every stage of their treatment journey. Our aim is to closely involve you in decision-making, as well as inviting you to involve a relative or friend to act as a ‘coach’ and support you.

As part of our patient education programme, you will receive information on every aspect of their treatment and will have an opportunity to discuss any part of their treatment with a member of their healthcare team.

After surgery, the ERP focuses on getting patients out of bed and moving their new joint as soon as possible, supported by effective pain relief. This approach is backed up by a multitude of research papers, which have shown that the earlier a person gets out of bed and starts walking, eating, and drinking after their operation, the faster their rehabilitation is likely to be and the better their outcome from surgery.

The benefits achieved by the ERP include:

Shorter length of hospital stay – the average is three days

A better range of motion and faster recovery in the early stages of recovery